Genome
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A genome is the complete collection of hereditary information for an individual organism. In cellular life forms, the hereditary information exists as DNA
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. There are two fundamentally distinct types of cells in the living world
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prokaryotic and eukaryotic, and the organization of genomes differs in these two types of cell
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[/FONT]Prokaryotes comprise the bacteria and archaea. The latter were origi[FONT=Times New Roman (Arabic)]-
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originally designated "extremophiles" because they favor such extreme environ
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environments as high acidity, salinity, or temperature. Prokaryotic cells tend to be
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very small, have few or no cytoplasmic organelles, and have the cellular DNA
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arranged in a "nucleoid region" that is not separated from the remainder of
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the cell by any membrane. Eukaryotes exist as unicellular or multicellular
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organisms. Among the unicellular eukaryotes are the protozoa, some types
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of algae, and a few forms of fungi, while the multicellular organisms include
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animals, plants, and most fungi
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Eukaryotic cells are larger than prokaryotic cells, have a complex array
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of cytoplasmic structures, and have a prominent nucleus that communicates
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with components in the cytoplasm through an elaborate nuclear envelope
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The hereditary information occurs principally in the nucleus of eukaryotic
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cells; in addition, minuscule (but essential) amounts of hereditary informa
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information occur in some cytoplasmic organelles (specifically, in chloroplasts for
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plants and algae, and in mitochondria for all eukaryotic groups
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Eukaryotic cells pass through a "cycle," progressing from a newly formed
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cell to a cell that is dividing to produce the next generation of progeny cells
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Prior to division, the cell is in an "interphase"; during division, the cell is
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in a "division phase." During interphase, the nuclear DNA is organized in
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a dispersed network of chromatin, which is a complex consisting of nucleic
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acid and basic proteins. Immediately prior to and during division, the chro
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chromatin condenses to a series of discrete, compact structures called chromo
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somes. Thus, the physical organization of the genome varies from inter
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phase to division phase. Finally, viruses (which are noncellular, parasitic "life
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forms") have genomes of double-stranded DNA, single-stranded DNA, dou
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double-stranded RNA, or single-stranded RNA
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Eukaryotes
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In sexually reproducing eukaryotes, progeny organisms receive a portion of
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their genetic information from each parent, receiving half the information
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from each. These parental contributions are designated haploid comple
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complements. The haploid complement can be represented as a "C value," which
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expresses the haploid complement as an amount of DNA measured in base
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pairs. Alternatively, the haploid complement can be expressed as the num
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number of chromosomes contributed by each parent: This number of chromo
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chromosomes is characteristic of each species. Finally, the haploid complement can be
expressed as the number of genes on the haploid set of chromosomes
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Chromosome Number
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Each species has a characteristic number of chromosomes. For species with
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genetically determined sexes, the haploid set is composed of autosomes plus
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a sex chromosome. Homo sapiens, for example, have 22 autosomes plus an X
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chromosome or Y chromosome. The haploid DNA content of chimpanzees
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is nearly identical, but is organized into 23 autosomes plus a sex chromosome
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The record for minimum number of chromosomes belongs to a sub
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subspecies of the ant, Myrmecia pilosula. The females have a single pair of chro
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chromosomes, while males have only a single chromosome. Like some other
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members of the insect class, these ants reproduce by a process called hap
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lodiploidy, in which diploid fertilized eggs develop into females, while hap
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haploid unfertilized eggs develop into males
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The record for maximum number of chromosomes is found in the plant
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kingdom, due to a condition known as polyploidy. In polyploidy, many extra
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sets of chromosomes beyond the normal diploid number may accumulate
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over time. Cultivars of wheat exist with diploid numbers of chromosomes
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equaling 14, 28, or 42 (multiples of the haploid number, which is 7). Poly
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ploids exist for many cultivated plants, including potatoes, strawberries, and
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cotton, as well as in wild plants such as dandelions. Polyploidy has led to
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striking numbers, and the known record is held by the fern Ophioglossum
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reticulatum, which has approximately 630 pairs
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